Who: India vs Namibia
What: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 – Group A
When: Thursday, February 12 at 7pm (13:30 GMT)
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, India
How to follow and stream: Al Jazeera’s live text and photo stream begins at 10:30 GMT
Namibia will look to make the most of an illness-and-injury-plagued Indian side when they meet the defending champions in their Group A match on Thursday.
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India are likely to take the field without their swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma after he was hospitalised with an upset stomach on Tuesday.
While Sharma was discharged on the eve of the match, his presence in the playing XI is doubtful.
The world’s top-ranked T20I batter struggled in India’s opening match against the United States.
“He has been discharged today, and he is doing well,” Indian batter Tilak Varma told reporters.
“We have got one more day for the game. Hopefully, we decide by tomorrow on how he feels, and we go with it.”
In better news for the world champions, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is expected to return after he missed the opener due to a fever.
Namibia expect ‘great spectacle’
Namibia, meanwhile, will be looking to move past their heavy loss against the Netherlands on Tuesday and register a shock win over the two-time world champions.
The African team’s coach, Craig Williams, admitted his side faces a stiff challenge against India, but they would like to pose a challenge against the pre-tournament favourites.
“Playing India in India – it’s going to be a great game for us and the spectacle is going to be fantastic for everyone back home as well,” Williams said before the match.
“As a professional team, we want to put on a good show, and hopefully, we’re going to stick to our game plan, and then we’ll see what happens at the end of the day.”
Williams said the key to Namibia’s chances will be a strong batting performance at the top of the order.
“We need someone in our top four to bat for a prolonged period of time, and then you need partnerships,” the former cricketer said.
“Playing against India won’t be easier, but if we can stick to our game plan, and take one ball at a time, hopefully, the result will then go our way.”
Form guide: India
India are on an eight-game unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup, carrying on from their title-winning campaign in 2024.
They lost one of their five T20Is against New Zealand last month.
Last five matches (most recent first): W W L W W
Form guide: Namibia
One of the biggest results in Namibian cricket history came in October, when they beat 2024 finalists South Africa by four wickets.
They have not been lucky enough to play international fixtures regularly, but can pose a challenge if one of their key players makes an impact.
Last five matches (most recent first): L W L W W
Team news: India
India’s squad has been hit by a range of illnesses and injuries, but Suryakumar Yadav’s team have plenty of power on the bench to grab another win.
Bumrah could return to the XI, replacing his stand-in Mohammed Siraj, and Sanju Samson could take Sharma’s place at the top of the order.
Predicted XI: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
Team news: Namibia
Namibia could field the same XI that lost to the Netherlands, hoping that the result goes the other way this time.
Predicted XI: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wicketkeeper), Dylan Leicher, Willem Myburgh, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo
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